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One of the more recent accusations was that the man had raped a former partner in the post-natal unit of Auckland Hospital.

"She will tell us she didn't want to have sex with him, perhaps understandably, but succumbed to the pressure," the prosecutor said.

A midwife will give evidence of what she saw when she walked in on them.

Mr McCoubrey told the jury the case could be divided into three sections, marked by the defendant's relationships with the three women from 1986 to 2014.

The first woman met him as a teenager in Hawkes Bay.

"She will tell us he didn't really care how the sex took place, to put it bluntly, he would force himself onto her," Mr McCoubrey said.

The Crown also claimed the man was quick to resort to violence and on one occasion, while arguing with the first complainant, grabbed a length of chain from the back of his ute and smashed her in the face, breaking her teeth.

When in his 40s, the defendant started seeing another teenaged girl in Auckland, whom he offered alcohol and drugs, Mr McCoubrey said.

During the time they were together, it is alleged the defendant would hold the woman in the house.

She is expected to tell the court that he removed door handles and boarded up windows in a bid to stop her leaving.

"She'll talk about even having to make appointments to leave the house to see her family," Mr McCoubrey said.

The second complainant also accused the 56-year-old of regular beatings "like he was having a fist fight with a guy".

The most recent partner came forward to police with allegations that she would often wake up to find the defendant raping her.

Mr McCoubrey said she was also on the end of the man's violent outbursts, which often came about in seemingly innocuous circumstances.

On one occasion it is alleged he threatened to kill her and her unborn child, throw them from a window and "make it look like an accident".

The trial before Justice Ailsa Duffy is expected to last four weeks and will see more than 30 witnesses give evidence.